


Not Drinking, Missing Martin

by lasvegas_lights



Series: Drinks and Drumming [7]
Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2019-03-26 05:34:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13851165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasvegas_lights/pseuds/lasvegas_lights
Summary: Martin has to go home for a few days, leaving Amanda missing him like crazy. When he comes back, it's to some news that surprises him.  Part 7 of the Drinks and Drumming series, takes place a few months after Ink, Paper.





	Not Drinking, Missing Martin

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to the awesome setmeatopthepyre and intricatecakes for their advice and suggestions!
> 
> Hope you like it!

The sound that came out of Amanda’s mouth when the phone rang was somewhere in between a whine and a whimper. Her arm slipped out from under the warm covers, gripped the offending item and pressed her thumb to the answer button.

“Ello?” she croaked out as she held it to her ear.

“Hey, it’s me, is he there?”

Through the fog of sleep Amanda recognised the voice of her sister-in-law “Sure, just a sec.” She twisted and forced herself around to face Martin and then kicked him in the shins to wake him up. His eyes jerked open and he glared at Amanda for waking him up. “It’s your sister,” she explained before holding the phone in his direction.

He groaned and took the phone from Amanda.

“Hey,” he said, his voice deep and hoarse from sleep. It was so early it was still dark outside.

As Martin listened, Amanda’s eyes slid shut and she attempted to fall back to sleep.

“How?......When’s the funeral?”

Amanda’s eyes flew open at the word funeral. Martin caught her look of concern and rested a hand on her bare waist to reassure her.

“Okay, I’ll be there….I’ll get the first flight out…see you tonight”

A beep signalled the end of the call and then Martin sighed loudly.

“What’s going on?”

“My Uncle Ray, heart attack”

“Shit.” Amanda dropped her forehead to Martin’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.” She knew what it was like to lose family members.

“I’ve gotta go, will probably be back home for the rest of the week.”

“You want me to come with?”

Martin angled his head down and kissed Amanda’s crown to show his gratitude “Need you here,” he answered “Keep the place from burning down….again.”

Amanda’s snort was very unladylike. “I’ll do my best.” Her head raised to meet Martin’s lips in a lazy kiss. Slowly, he used his body weight to push Amanda onto her back and settled on top of her. She shivered as his thumb traced the permanent ink across the bumps of her ribs.

Amanda wasn’t sure how she was going to last a week without Martin, not that she would ever admit that to him. Since first getting together, they hadn’t spent much time apart. She realised she hadn’t slept in their bed alone since his car accident. As they moved together, she held onto him just a little bit tighter than usual, hoping that Martin didn’t notice.

Later, when her skin was slick with sweat and there was still a tingling feeling between her legs, she hugged the covers to her chest and watched Martin pack.

“Don’t forget about the delivery coming tomorrow,” he reminded her as he stuffed a pile of clothes into the duffle bag.

She rolled her eyes. “I won’t”

He sighed. “Sorry, not used to dropping everything like this.”

“I know,” Amanda replied softly. “I’m sorry you have to deal with it on your own.”

Martin raised an eyebrow at her “You know the shit I’m gonna get for not bringing you along?”

Amanda laughed. “Your mom keeps emailing me demanding to know when I’m going to visit”

“She’s never met you yet she likes you more’n me.”

“Can you blame her?” Amanda teased and then shrieked when Martin tugged at the covers she was using keep warm.

* * *

To say that Amanda missed Martin was an understatement. She kept herself busy at the bar, inventing projects to keep her mind off the fact that her husband was the other side of the country. She even gave Vogel the night off and took his shift just so she wouldn’t be upstairs twiddling her thumbs alone. She also found she could only sleep if she used Martin’s pillow and exhausted herself with late night TV.

Knowing Martin was dealing with a funeral and family members he hadn’t seen in years, she kept her game face on when he rung to see how she was. She also chose not to mention starting to feel unwell, knowing Martin would only worry. When the nausea got too much, she was forced to leave the bar in Cross’ capable hands whilst she went to get checked out at the doctor’s.

“Everything okay Boss?” Vogel asked when she returned from the doctor’s surgery.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Amanda responded, a little out of it. “Just got some unexpected news.”

She missed the look her friends gave each other as she headed upstairs to rest. When the bar started to fill up later in the evening, she returned downstairs to pitch in. When they ran out of bottles of beer, she volunteered to go out to the store room and collect some more. The look of panic on each of their faces when she returned, a heavy box of supplies in her arms surprised her.

“You shouldn’t be carrying all that.” Gripps ran over to her and took the box from her.

“Really? I’ve carried heavier and you never lifted a finger,” she complained at the sudden strange behaviour.

“We gotta look after you whilst the boss is away, he’d have our hides if we let something happen to you.”

Amanda rolled her eyes at her friend’s overprotectiveness.

“Just humour us, okay?” Cross added.

She put her hands up in surrender. “Fine, have it your way.” She lifted one of the bottles out of the box, snapped off the cap and brought it to her lips. She froze mid gulp and slowly put the bottle down.

The boys gave each other looks once again. “Beer not good?” Gripps asked.

“Just remembered I’m not drinking at the moment,” Amanda replied awkwardly. “I'm on a detox,” she added.

“Sure.” Gripps didn’t sound convinced.

* * *

When Martin arrived back at the bar, the last thing he was expected to walk into was his friends and employees arguing with each other.

“I’m telling you she is.” Gripps’ hands went to his hips as he stood his ground.

“And I want proof before I hand over fifty bucks,” Cross replied, waving the money in the air.

“How much more proof do you need! She’s not drinking, she keeps rushing off to the bathroom, the doctor’s appointment, the unexpected news,” Gripps listed off on his fingers. Vogel’s head went from Gripps to Cross and back to Gripps again like he was watching a tennis match.

Martin had no idea what was going on but it was time to make his presence known. “Okay, what the hell is going on?”

The trio froze, each looking like a deer caught in the headlights. They slowly turned to face Martin who was stood in the entrance with his back slung over one shoulder.

“I’m gonna ask again…What the hell is going on?” Martin said a little more firmly.

“Well,” Cross started “Gripps can explain.”

Gripps shot Cross a sharp glare. “Vogel, why don’t you tell the boss what’s up?”

Vogel looked even more panicked. “Me?”

Martin sighed in frustration. “Who is it you’re talking about? The person who’s not drinking and has been to see the doc?”

At that moment, the door swung open behind Martin and Amanda appeared with groceries under her arm. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Martin and she quickly dumped the bag on the bar to pull her husband into an embrace.

“I wasn’t expecting you back until tomorrow!” She hugged him tightly, his own arms sliding around her waist in return. Finally she pulled away and retrieved the groceries she left on the countertop.

“Everything been okay?”

Amanda smiled. “Nothing I couldn’t handle”

“You sure?”

“Just been a little under the weather, I’ll tell you about it later,” she promised. She pressed a kiss to his cheek and then started making her way to the backroom staircase.

Martin’s eyes widened and he looked at his friends who were all looking guilty. He pointed at Amanda and they all shrugged and nodded simultaneously.

Martin dropped his back and chased after Amanda, reaching her as she was halfway up the stairs. “Are you pregnant?”

She stopped mid step and slowly turned to face her husband. “What did you say?”

“Are you pregnant?”

“Why the hell would you think that?”

“The guys seem to think you are.” Martin slowly climbed the stairs to meet her in the middle. “Doctor’s visit, unexpected news, no drinking...”

Amanda sighed and reached out to grasp Martin’s arm, pulling him up the stairs. “Come on, I’m not having this conversation on the stairs with the others listening in.” There was a collective groan from Gripps, Cross and Vogel as the couple rose up the staircase, opened the front door and closed it behind them.

Martin followed Amanda into the kitchen and watched silently as she placed her bag down on the table and started pulling food out of it. “I’m not pregnant,” she admitted softly.

“You’re not?” Martin didn’t sound convinced.

“No.” She slammed the can of sweetcorn down onto the table. “I’m not…I wouldn’t do that to you.”

Martin frowned. “You wouldn’t do what to me?” he said, his arms folded across his chest.

“We haven’t had the talk….about kids….I wouldn’t just surprise you like that…I’m a little pissed off that you thought I would.”

Martin dropped down into the nearest chair as Amanda continued to put food away, slamming doors loudly and ignoring Martin.

“But with everything the boys said…you went to see the doc, you’re not drinking, what else am I supposed to think?”

“You’re supposed to trust your wife wouldn’t just get herself pregnant and not tell you!” Amanda snapped. “Fuck.” Amanda abandoned the rest of the foot and quickly left the room.

Martin found her propped up against the foot of the bed, her arms hugged tightly to her chest and her eyes red.

“I’m sorry,” Martin apologised softly. “I’m an idiot, you know that about me.”

Amanda let him stew for a long minute before slowly patting the carpet beside her. Martin dropped down onto the floor and pulled his knees up to his chest.

“I’m not drinking because I’m on antibiotics,” she began, avoiding Martin’s eyes on her. “I have a UTI, an infection, that’s why I kept having to run to the bathroom…and it’s not exactly something I wanted to shout from the rooftops about so…” She gave a half shrug.

“What about that unexpected news?”

“Todd rang me whilst I was on the way back from the pharmacy, apparently he’s starting this detective agency with some new friend of his he barely knows…I was a little surprised, as you can imagine.”

“A detective agency?”

“Just don’t.” Amanda held up a hand “This is another one of his crazy ideas that’ll last five minutes, you just gotta batten down the hatches until it all blows over.”

“Okay.”

“They all really thought I was pregnant?”

Martin nodded. “I think there may have been a wager involved.”

“I’ll kill them.”

“You do that and we’ll have no staff to run the bar.”

“Fuck, okay, I’ll slightly maim them, then.”

“Much better.” Martin placed an arm over her shoulders and tugged her closer until she was tucked into his side. “I really am sorry for jumping to conclusions.”

“I know.”

Amanda angled her head up and their lips met in a slow kiss. As the kiss deepened, Amanda was lifted off the floor and pulled onto Martin’s lap and she gasped as his hands slid down her back and cupped her ass.

“I missed you,” she mumbled.

“Likewise,” he drawled.

Amanda’s fingers threaded into his mohawk as the kissing continued. She could feel his arousal as she shifted on his lap and groaned against his lips. “We can’t…not until I finish the course of antibiotics.”

“Now you tell me.”

“Just because we can’t have sex, doesn’t mean you can’t have fun.” Amanda grinned as she pulled herself to her feet and then helped Martin to his feet before pushing him back down on the end of the bed and kneeling in front of him. He ran his fingers through her hair as she unbuckled his jeans.

* * *

Amanda perched on the edge of the bath as Martin showered. The room has steamed up but she could just about make out his reflection in the mirror which left her mouth dry and she wished she could join him. She knew if she did it would lead to other things and she wasn’t sure how she was going to last another five days on the course of medication without jumping her husband.

“Were you disappointed?” she asked over the sound of the water.

“Huh?”

“Me…not being pregnant.”

His head ducked out of the shower and he looked at her through narrow slits, the streaming water making it hard for him to see. “You really wanna to have this conversation now?”

She shrugged.

His head disappeared for a moment before the water was turned off and he stepped out of the cubicle. She caught an eyeful before he wrapped a towel around his waist and then he sat down beside her and slid his hand into hers.

“Yes… and no,” he finally answered her question.

“I don’t understand.”

“Look, do I think we’re ready to have a little mini-you running around? No…will we ever be? I have no idea.”

“But?” Amanda prompted.

“The thought of you being pregnant with my kid? I kinda liked it.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “Just between you and me.”

“Of course,” Amanda replied quickly. She pulled Martin into an hug which was slightly awkward thanks to their side-by-side position. Her face pressed into his neck, his skin still warm and damp from his shower. “Let’s have this conversation again, maybe in a year’s time?” She suggested.

“Okay,” Martin agreed, pulling his wife in tight.

 


End file.
